In the prior art, there are tape printers printing character strings on a tape-like recording sheet to create labels to attach to various items.
Such a tape printer comprises a cassette loader in which a cassette housing a tape as a medium on which print is made is loaded. In the cassette loader, a thermal head printing on the tape, a platen roller clamping and conveying the tape between the thermal head and itself, a cutter cutting the printed tape, and the like are provided.
In the meantime, tape printers sometimes pause printing in the middle of printing for conducting given tasks. This occurs, for example, when the tape should be cut for ensuring a margin set before the character strings to print, when the temperature of the thermal head becomes excessively high in the middle of printing and the thermal head should be cooled for proper printing control, or when the print data should be loaded in the process of printing.
For pausing the printing, the drive motors of the thermal head and platen roller are stopped with the platen roller held at the print position in order to prevent the tape shifting during the given task. Then, after the given task ends, the drive motors of the thermal head and platen roller are controlled to resume the printing.
In the meantime, tape printers comprising a platen roller movable relative to the thermal head and provided with the above-described platen roller drive means have the risk of advancing the tape while the printing is paused and causing omitted printing.
For addressing the above problem, in the prior art, techniques of rotating the drive motors backward by a certain fixed angle while the printing is paused to prevent omitted print are known (for example, the technique described in Patent Literature 1).
Furthermore, techniques of reprinting the print line immediately before the tape is stopped while the printing is paused to prevent omitted print are known (for example, the technique described in Patent Literature 2).
Patent Literature 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. 2000-246980; and
Patent Literature 2: Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No. H7-266622.